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John focused on his daughter’s face. Bella had always looked forward to Christmas, but she’d never been this animated or excited. Each December, he tried to make up for what she’d lost - what they’d both lost - by not turning Christmas into a big deal. But Bella was happier than he’d ever seen her. After all of the issues he was having at work, maybe this Christmas would be different.
“I’ve got another idea,” John said. “Instead of going to Walmart, why don’t we make our own snowman in the backyard?”
Bella’s mouth dropped open. “Out of real snow?”
John nodded. “You could ask Mrs. Daniels if she has any carrots that we could use for his nose.”
Bella’s arms dropped from around the reindeer. She ran toward the kitchen, yelling over the Christmas carols for Mrs. Daniels.
Tank bit into one of Bella’s cookies and stood up. “You’ve made one little girl happy. I’ll let the rest of the team know that we’re heading outside.”
Tank left the room and Rachel’s worried gaze met John’s. “You’ve got more bodyguards outside? Why?”
This was one of the few times in his life when John didn’t know what to say. Too much information could scare her, too little could be deadly. “I’ve got something I need to tell you, but you’ve got to promise that you won’t repeat this to anyone.”
Rachel put down her mug of chocolate. “It sounds serious.”
“It is. I received a death threat this morning.”
***
Rachel watched Bella pat a lump of snow into a ball with John. Their faces were inches apart as they worked together to make the snowman’s head.
She didn’t know what it was about John and Bella, but the more time she spent with them, the faster something seemed to unravel inside of her.
“They’re having a good time.” Tank stood beside Rachel, watching the fun taking place in the snow.
“They always have a good time together. I just wish John was home more often. Then he’d really see how much Bella loves spending time with him.”
Tank gaze traveled along the trees surrounding the property. “He knows.”
“Why doesn’t he do something about it?”
Tank glanced quickly at her before transferring his gaze back to John. “He tries. You need to cut him some slack. He’s got a lot happening at the moment.”
Rachel didn’t need to be reminded. John had explained about the threat to his life, the steps that had been put in place to make sure everyone was safe.
Tank nodded at Bella. “She’s a great kid, but it hasn’t been easy. After his wife died, John took Bella to physical therapy classes for a long time. You’d never know that she had trouble walking for about a year. While he was looking after Bella, he was trying to figure out what he wanted from life.”
“He figured it out pretty well.” Rachel watched John lift the snowman’s head onto its body. “Starting Fletcher Security was either the smartest business move he made, or there’s more to his business than I know.”
Tank crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You’ll need to talk to John about that.”
John glanced up at Rachel and his smile dimmed.
“You confuse him,” Tank muttered. “He’s used to planning everything down to the last detail. He doesn’t know what you’re going to do from one minute to the next.”
Rachel turned to Tank. “That’s unfair. You and Tanner have been following Bella and me around ever since I started working here. You know exactly where I am at any given time because you’re right behind me.”
“We weren’t supposed to go to the mall.”
Rachel scuffed the snow in front of her with the toe of her boot. “I needed to get my clothes from my apartment. Walmart was one stop on the way back here.”
“It was one stop that could have been dangerous.”
Rachel bent down and picked up a handful of snow. “I couldn’t stay here over Christmas with no decorations. It’s not Christmas without lights, tinsel, and a tree.”
She rolled the snow into a ball and aimed for John. “Maybe your boss needs to unwind and let you and the police worry about the baddies?” The snowball flew through the air and landed with a thud on the back of John’s jacket.
He turned around and looked at Rachel. She shook her head and pointed at Tank.
John didn’t look convinced. He kneeled beside Bella and whispered something in her ear. She looked at Rachel and smiled.
Tank stuck his hands in his jacket. “John’s my friend. Make sure you don’t break his heart. He couldn’t go through that again.”
He started to turn away, but Rachel held onto his arm. “Wait, Tank. I don’t plan on getting anywhere near his heart. John is my…” Rachel’s words were cut short by a snowball exploding against the side of her face. She turned just in time to see another one hurtling toward her. She ducked low, narrowly missing the missile.
“What the…?” Tank ended up wearing the snowball on his jacket.
Rachel dropped to the ground. “Don’t worry, Tank. I’ve got you covered.” She quickly scooped together enough snow for a decent snowball and aimed it at Bella and John. They were hiding behind the snowman, throwing a stockpile of snowballs straight at her and Tank.
Tank fired a couple of his own snowballs across the yard. “You’ve got me for two minutes. After that, you’re on your own. I’ve got work to do.”
Bella giggled as a snowball hit Tank’s shoulder. He recovered quickly, picked up a handful of snow, and threw it straight at John.
While John and Tank traded snowballs, Rachel ran toward Bella with a small snowball in her hand. She threw it at Bella’s bright red jacket and smiled at the look of excitement on her face.
Bella picked up one of her snowballs and threw it at Rachel, reaching for another one as soon as the last snowball had left her hands.
Rachel was so focused on Bella that she forgot to keep watch of John. By the time she realized where he was, it was too late. John had snuck up behind her and dropped a huge handful of snow on her head.
Rachel yelped as the cold snow melted against her skin, trickled down her back, and left a trail of goose bumps in its path.
Bella laughed as Rachel turned and faced her grinning adversary. “Sneaky move.”
“I thought so, too.” John’s blue eyes were alive with laughter. For the first time since she’d met him, he looked happy.
Rachel felt the weight of the snowball that she still had in her hand. It wasn’t big, but if she was quick and accurate, it could do what she needed it to do. She took a step closer to John.
He took a step backward. “I have to warn you that I’m an expert snowball maker.”
“Really?”
“And that Bella’s coming up behind you with another snowball.”
“You can’t distract me that easily, John Fletcher.” Rachel took aim, fired her snowball at him, then ran as fast as she could to try and miss Bella’s snowball. She didn’t get far.
John grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his body. “Quick, Bella.”
Rachel twisted against his arms. “Not fair,” she laughed as John’s arms tightened.
“Everything’s fair when you’re having a snowball fight.”
Bella’s snowball landed on Rachel’s shoulder, showering her in soft, white powder. Another trickle of cold water ran down her neck, making her squirm against John’s body. “I give up. The war is over.”
Bella ran toward her and hugged her around the waist. Rachel felt John lose his balance. She tried falling sideways, but his arms kept hold of her and they all toppled backward. His grunt of pain was enough to let Rachel know that he was hurt.
Bella was the first person to move. She slid off Rachel and sat in the snow, staring at her dad. “Are you okay?”
John took a deep breath and winced.
Rachel scrambled off his body. “Where does it hurt?”
John sat up. “It’s nothing.”
“Nothing doesn’t make you go as white as the snow.”
He slowly pulled himself to his feet. “I knocked my arm, that’s all.”
Rachel frowned. She’d landed against him hard and could have easily hurt him.
“Will you need to go back to the hospital?” Bella asked. Her little face was scrunched in a knot. She was worried about her dad.
Rachel leaned down and smiled. “Sounds to me like your dad needs a hot chocolate to make him feel better.”
Bella looked at John. Her face relaxed into its normal smile when he nodded at her. “I’ll go and tell Mrs. Daniels.” She ran as fast as she could toward the house.
Rachel turned to John. Regardless of what she’d said to Bella, she was worried about him. He had enough to deal with over Christmas without aggravating the bullet wound on his arm. “How bad is it?”
“Nothing that a painkiller won’t cure.”
She didn’t believe him. “Do you need help getting back to the house?”
He looked cautiously at the hand she was holding out to him. “You’re not going to try one of your self-defense moves on me are you?”
Rachel grinned. “Only if you misbehave.”
